Condo Leader, 70, Dies After Dispute With Neighbor

No harm intended, Jackson told investigators. Just a push to get Seymour Goldfarb to go away after an argument on Jan. 3 in the driveway of Jackson's villa in the Harbours of Aberdeen.

Goldfarb, 70, fell. He died two days later at Delray Community Hospital from blunt trauma to the head, according the Medical Examiner's Office. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is investigating to decide whether Jackson should be charged.

"We're working it as a manslaughter case ... if anything," Detective David Carhart said.

The argument started when Jackson, 66, and his neighbors Goldfarb and Jack Becker were talking in Jackson's garage. They were discussing the upcoming election of the condominium association's board of directors.

Goldfarb, a retired electrical contractor from Pennsylvania, was running for re-election on the February ballot, Becker said. The discussion turned to what defines a quorum, he said.

"Mr Goldfarb had one definition and Mr. Jackson had another definition," Becker. "It wasn't a really heated argument. It wasn't at the point of fighting."

At one point, Jackson went inside his home on Waterline Drive west of Boynton Beach and brought out a dictionary, Becker said.

Jackson, a Korean War veteran and retiree from a New York insurance company, was talking and Goldfarb wanted to say something, Becker said. "Mr. Goldfarb told him to shut up," he said.

Jackson got upset and told Goldfarb to get out of his garage, Becker said.

Jackson used both hands and pushed Goldfarb, causing him to fall backward and hit his head on the concrete, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Jackson then called 911, Becker said.

Goldfarb was taken to JFK Medical Center in Atlantis where he signed a refusal to prosecute form, Carhart said.

"He was coherent," Carhart said. "He really didn't want to go any further than what had happened."

Mike Edmondson, a State Attorney's Office spokesman, said when a victim decides not to prosecute, he can fill out an affidavit that will be included in the file that the State Attorney's Office reviews. It doesn't always mean charges won't be filed.

The Sheriff's Office investigation will be turned over to the State Attorney's Office, which will determine whether charges will be filed.

Jackson could not be reached for comment on Thursday. His attorney, Tom Gano, said it was an unfortunate accident and Jackson is extremely sorry.

"[Jackson) is a good-natured man," Becker said.

After Goldfarb's death, rumors traveled fast through the gated community where residents must be 55 or older, a neighbor said.

"The neighbors were shocked when it happened but are not blaming Jackson of any wrongdoing," neighbor Monroe Weiss said.